Let’s be real. You didn't just watch Sex and the City for the shoes. You watched it for that specific, lightning-in-a-bottle blend of friendship, frankness, and the kind of New York City magic that probably doesn't exist anymore—if it ever did. Finding what to watch after Sex and the City is notoriously difficult because most "successor" shows try too hard. They get the fashion right but forget the heart, or they focus on the sex but forget that the main characters actually need to like each other.
Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha weren't just archetypes. They were a mood. When you finish the series (and the movies, and maybe And Just Like That... if you’re a completionist), there’s a vacuum. You want smart dialogue. You want women who are messy. You want a city that feels like a character.
Most lists will just point you toward Gossip Girl or Emily in Paris. Honestly? Those are fine for a distraction, but they lack the DNA of what made Darren Star’s original vision work. We’re looking for the spiritual successors—the shows that understand that being a woman in your 30s (or 20s, or 40s) is a beautiful, terrifying disaster.
The Raw Reality of Modern Loneliness
If you want the soul of SATC but with a modern, darker edge, look at Girls. It’s the obvious evolution, even if it’s polarizing. Lena Dunham famously pitched it as the reality of what happens between the glamorous moments. While Carrie Bradshaw worried about buying Manolos instead of a Manhattan apartment, Hannah Horvath is worried about paying rent while being an unpaid intern.
It’s cringey. It’s uncomfortable. But the friendship dynamics—the way they fight, the way they drift, and the way they eventually realize they might not be friends forever—is a direct, if cynical, descendant of the SATC lineage. You aren't going to find many "I'm a Charlotte" moments here, but you will find the same obsession with self-discovery.
The "Single in the City" Update
For a more joyful take on the "four friends" formula, Harlem on Amazon Prime Video is probably the closest thing we have to a modern-day Sex and the City. It follows four ambitious best friends in, you guessed it, Harlem. It hits all the right notes: Camille is the academic struggling with her love life, Tye is the tech entrepreneur, Quinn is the hopeless romantic, and Angie is the unfiltered star.
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The fashion is incredible. The brunch scenes are top-tier. Most importantly, it tackles issues that the original show famously ignored, like gentrification and systemic barriers, without feeling like a lecture. It’s a love letter to a specific neighborhood, much like the original was a love letter to the Upper East Side.
What to Watch After Sex and the City If You Miss the Wit
Sometimes the thing you miss most isn't the dating; it's the banter. The quick-fire, intellectual, slightly neurotic conversation. This is where Hacks on Max comes in.
It isn't about four women looking for love. It’s about two women—one a legendary Las Vegas comedian, the other a canceled Gen Z writer—looking for relevance. But the DNA is there. The costume design is impeccable. Deborah Vance’s wardrobe could give Samantha Jones a run for her money. The relationship between the two leads captures that specific female mentorship and friction that made the original series so compelling. It's sharp. It's mean sometimes. It's deeply moving.
Then there’s Fleabag. If Carrie Bradshaw’s inner monologue was stripped of its whimsy and replaced with biting, fourth-wall-breaking honesty, you’d get Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s masterpiece. It’s shorter—only two seasons—but it explores sex, grief, and the performative nature of being a "woman" better than almost anything else on television.
It’s a different kind of "what to watch after Sex and the City." It’s for when you want the honesty of the original show’s most daring episodes (think "The Post-it Always Sticks Twice") without the glossy finish.
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When the City is the Main Character
New York was the "fifth friend." If that’s what you’re craving, Broad City is the essential choice. Abbi and Ilana are the chaotic, broke versions of the SATC girls. They traverse the city with the same fervor, but instead of gallery openings, they’re trying to find a lost package in a remote corner of an outer borough.
It captures the hustle.
The energy of Broad City reminds us that the city isn't just a backdrop for romance; it’s an obstacle course. If you want something a bit more sophisticated, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel offers a nostalgic, Technicolor version of New York that feels like the spiritual ancestor of Carrie’s world. The hats, the apartments, the rapid-fire dialogue—it’s pure aesthetic bliss.
The International Alternative
Don't sleep on Valeria. This Spanish Netflix series is often called "the Spanish Sex and the City," and for once, the comparison is actually accurate. It follows a writer (Valeria) who is stuck in her marriage and her career, leaning heavily on her three best friends.
- Lola: The free spirit who mirrors Samantha’s sexual liberation.
- Carmen: The quirky, anxious one.
- Nerea: The high-achiever dealing with family expectations.
The Madrid setting is stunning. The lighting is warm. The drama is relatable. It feels like a warm hug for anyone who misses the specific pacing of an early 2000s dramedy.
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Why the "Formula" Usually Fails
Most shows trying to be what to watch after Sex and the City fail because they focus on the wrong things. They think it's about the cosmopolitan lifestyle. It’s not. It’s about the intimacy of the friendships.
Take The Bold Type. It’s a great show about three friends working at a magazine. It’s fun, the fashion is great, and it deals with modern social issues. But sometimes it feels a bit too "perfect." The SATC women were often selfish. They were judgmental. They had massive fights that lasted for episodes. That's the part that feels human.
If you want that complexity, look at Insecure. Issa Rae’s masterpiece is one of the best portrayals of female friendship ever put to film. The friendship between Issa and Molly is the heartbeat of the show. They support each other, but they also trigger each other. They go through "friendship breakups" that hurt worse than the actual breakups with men. It captures the evolution of your 20s into your 30s with a level of nuance that Carrie and her friends paved the way for.
Essential Next Steps for Your Watchlist
If you are staring at your streaming dashboard and can't decide, use this hierarchy based on what you specifically miss about the show:
- If you miss the fashion and the "fabulous" life: Start Emily in Paris or The Bold Type. They are light, airy, and visually stimulating.
- If you miss the brutally honest conversations about sex: Go straight to Sex Education or Fleabag. They don't pull punches.
- If you miss the "four friends against the world" dynamic: Watch Harlem or Valeria. These are the closest structural matches.
- If you miss the New York City vibe: Dive into Broad City (for the grit) or The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (for the glamor).
- If you want something that feels "grown up": Try Big Little Lies. It’s darker and involves a murder mystery, but it explores the inner lives of women and their complicated social structures with incredible depth.
The reality is that nothing will ever be exactly like Sex and the City because the media landscape has changed. We don't watch TV the same way anymore. But the spirit of the show—the idea that your friends are your soulmates and men are just people to "explore" along the way—is alive and well in these titles.
Stop scrolling and pick one. Start with Harlem if you want that classic group dynamic, or Hacks if you want to see what a "Samantha" looks like in her 70s with a sharp tongue and a multi-million dollar empire. Each of these picks honors the legacy of the four women who changed television forever without simply trying to copy their outfits.